Flashback: Android makers tried to emulate the iPod touch, failed

16 April 2023
Several companies made Android portable media players or "PMPs", but they didn't really catch on.

Sort by:

  • U
  • Urs
  • 33I
  • 03 Dec 2023

Mkbhd and the studio tested latest Sony player:
- the result it’s a scam
- it’s not worth it
I love dedicated music players like iPod touch but no one in the industry will make one that can be used with normal headphones and give us the best experience without spending a car money for high end headphones

    • D
    • AnonD-120291
    • MWW
    • 22 Apr 2023

    Jeff, 18 Apr 2023This site does not have Apple bias man. Of all the tech sit... morethis site has plenty of apple bias man, i have been here for the best part of 15 years and have seen plenty, it is NOT as bad as some sites though, and tests are one thing, but skewed writing is another, and this site like most are apple biased, heck even this article is slamming every non apple product and calling it a fail when that is not even remotely the full story

      Bub, 17 Apr 2023You don't want to have Bluetooth on an audiophile device.but what about fiio btr3?

        The current Android-powered Sony Walkman tempts me. If Sony can incorporate some of the Walkman's audio technology into the Xperia smartphone while still keeping the headphone jack, it would be a perfect replacement for LG's V50 and V60.

          • J
          • Jeff
          • t4v
          • 18 Apr 2023

          AnonD-120291, 18 Apr 2023You have to remember that this site is iPhone and apple bia... moreThis site does not have Apple bias man. Of all the tech sites I would argue GSMArena has managed to stay extremely neutral and you can see that in the tests and recommendations. Certain other sites that rhyme with phone marina are clearly much heavier skewed towards the apple bias.

          I would probably have more bias as I'm strongly against Apple's whole lock you into one ecosystem no choice but our choice style.

            • D
            • AnonD-120291
            • MWW
            • 18 Apr 2023

            MRSTEK, 17 Apr 2023The writer clearly know nothing about the current Android m... moreYou have to remember that this site is iPhone and apple bias, if it isn't apple then it failed regardless, back then music players from other companies were far superior to the ipod generation, but like now they had a user base and compatibility to back up and software integration between iTunes and syncing and such was far more streamlined, although with non apple products you simply dragged and dropped your files and it was done. ipods where great but they were not the bees knees, much like the iPhones of today, excellent devices but nowhere near the android flagships in terms of function/features/hardware, and I own a 14 pro max and still accept that it is not the best phone by a wide margin, although it does have features and functions that are ahead of other companies.

              • B
              • Bub
              • Imr
              • 17 Apr 2023

              Anonymous, 17 Apr 2023I think there is still a market but it's small and for... moreYou don't want to have Bluetooth on an audiophile device.

                RayVone, 16 Apr 2023To read, we can believe that Apple was making music players... moreWhen did the article ever imply this? Straight from the piece, "Sony is the company that invented the tiny personal audio players with the first Walkman and it did not want to be outdone." Never once did the author state that Apple invented the digital music player

                  if it is Android MP3 player then it is already beaten by the smartphones. I remember having free Samsung flip phone from a telecom company, it is good enough for playing MP3s. I also remember playing MP3s on a Nokia 6600, albeit, consumes a lot of battery life, at least years earlier than Android or iPhone smartphones

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • pKL
                    • 17 Apr 2023

                    I think there is still a market but it's small and for it to be viable it has to be cheap which is another difficulty. So a wi-fi/Bluetooth MP3 player that is small and fits easily in the pocket with the ability to pair with wired or wireless earbuds. People can take it for walks and runs, download music and podcasts on it and store off line music.

                      What these Android OEMs forgot was that prior to releasing the iPod Touch, Apple already had put in the building blocks. There's the existing iPod brand, the iTunes music service, and iPhone OS premiered by the iPhone. The iPod Touch release became something highly desirable as it plugged in to the existing iTunes service while providing cheaper alternative for people to experience iPhone OS.

                      Android OEMs don't have any of that. They were using the same new brand as their phones, they're slapping half-hearted music service, and Android back then was really a laggy mess. Add on the even less powerful Soc used in these non-phone devices, you get a really poor user experience. Nobody wanted them. Funny thing is, none of these Android OEMs even learned anything. Not even Sony. Their so called audiophile walkman have great marketing on paper, but the UI is still a laggy mess.

                      Fast forward, thanks to the Chinese, now it's easier and cheaper to simply get an Android phone with an SD card slot to be your "iPod." Apple realized this, along with the sales of their iPhones, that the iPod market is no longer profitable, so they discontinued the iPod lineup completely.

                        Anonymous, 16 Apr 2023you wrong !!! you know nothing about audiophile !!! audio... moreExcept there are other "Audiophiles" that they shave the edge of music CDs and de-magnetizing them for "Better sound quality"

                          Next: Android makers tried to mock apple's removing stuff trend, it succeeded

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • YQZ
                            • 17 Apr 2023

                            Tiny rockbox-able players are what we need. Miss the Sansa clips.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • PZs
                              • 17 Apr 2023

                              RayVone, 16 Apr 2023To read, we can believe that Apple was making music players... moreapple only inspires one thing, centralized worldwide control, all user data stored and belong to apple, even when someone jailbreak it, only to find the filenames are scrambled, it is designed to control humanity with the illusion of ease of use and luxury, the other innovasions are just translating past innovation from other companies, such as ipod is translated from sony walkman

                                Rkm, 16 Apr 2023Personally, when buying a DAP, I would like to buy a non An... moreYes. I remembered when I bought musiland 08. It is very awkward to use but the audio quality is fairly nice.

                                  The writer clearly know nothing about the current Android music player market. Android, as a modern system compared with an embedded RTOS, is a tool to modernize traditional high-end (serious) music players.

                                  Fiio, A&K, shanling and colorfly, have gradually transitioned to Android players because they are far more easier to use. Hiby music, those who made that great player app, has also released their own Android players.

                                  So the truth is that Android players haven't failed, they just moved to high-end segment and niche market.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • I@H
                                    • 17 Apr 2023

                                    fast forward... it became a smartphone via lg quad dac (then it died, rip lg)
                                    fast forward... sony walkman now uses android (not that it is better in every aspect than their previous firmware)
                                    ...
                                    and where is ipod now?
                                    oh yeah, they might revive it... thus this article is putting some perfumes on it, to make it great again... 😂... of course, it will sell... because apple things...

                                      I don't recall android players being a thing! To be honest, Apple, Microsoft, and Sony all wanted to push their own formats other than mp3. Creative was the versatile one in those days. I had the Archos 5 and that wasn't a native android player. It used Linux to support all the different video formats.
                                      In my humble opinion I think they didn't become mainstream because by time they were supporting different formats either you had one fo the other players or upgraded to phone that had an mp3 player.
                                      I've had an mp3 player in a phone since Siemens sl45. For those that were grown enough.

                                        To read, we can believe that Apple was making music players before Sony and that Sony copied it, except that it's absolutely the opposite, Sony was making cassette players and digital players before Apple. We remember, don't try to change history.

                                        Instead, write an article on the technologies that Apple has inspired (not to say copied) and managed to make a bestseller

                                          1 of 3